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Macbook question
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pranji
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
4
Posted : Aug 12, 2016 00:10:57
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Hi guys, my question is Macbook Air i7 2.2ghz 8gb or Macbook Pro i5 2.6 ghz 16gb? Both have SSD drive.
Im using Ableton and i like to throw a lot of vsts and effects in the mix but also a lot of samples.
Can't decide which would be best, both are a good price (refurbished models).
Any thoughts would be gratefully received.
Cheers,
Prana. |
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knocz
Moderator
Started Topics :
40
Posts :
1151
Posted : Aug 22, 2016 13:46
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Hi there!
10 years ago, it would be a different story, but right now I wouldn't recommend Apple for music production  Too many flaws and Apple seemed to have ignored musicians needs about 10 years ago Lousy ports and expansibility, cheap chassis, a sweet tendency to break down, and thre goes another month without your system while it travels back and forth in warantee.
Plus do consider many VST's simply don't work in MacOS 
But regarding your question, MacBook Air has a really bad processor. It doesn't matter if you have the fastest SSD and Ram, if you CPU cant keep up with any task that involves a little bit of processing. So, considering both mac's are more for less from the same time, the Pro i5 should put the Air i7 in a corner.
Plus Apple even limited the Air with even less ports, so good luck connecting a bunch of stuff - and taking this setup on the road.
If only presented with the 2 choices, go with the Pro.
Also "having and SSD" is just the tip of the iceberg.. there are many SSD speeds, with some having way more IOPS than another one. Ram is as well a huge factor. And the motherboard that connects it all (limiting where possible - and many times the soundcard is simply in the bottom of the priority). Your OS setup is also crucial for best results.
My vote still goes to a good PC system - and I'm always looking at Molten Music Technologies (previous rain recording UK), just due to their test quality -> yeah, you could built one yourself I know, but I prefer to leave the cooking to the cooks, and the music to the musicians.
 Super Banana Sauce http://www.soundcloud.com/knocz |
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TimeTraveller
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
80
Posts :
3207
Posted : Aug 24, 2016 23:50
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I myself can only say that I honestly regret buying a new PC instead of a new Mac again. Only trouble here. Never again for sure. I could write an essay in how many points it brings here nothing more but trouble and practice in patience or accepting ^^ but I let it be.
Last problem after my vacation now this mofo even deleted driver for keyboard and cannot find the solution. It just sucks completely. Have spend around 8 years without any problems on mac and I am not absolutely stupid about drivers inner system preferences etc. At least my PC brings Problems constantly. I also do not crack anything and dont visit any fishy sides and it still is simply somehow buggy and problematic. Dunno why, installed now even new windows and its even more worse.
I don't know which Mac is better of your selection though.
I truely believe that there are many like knocz who never expirienced any problems on PCs but I just mention my expiriences and honest opinion about Mac and PC. I have no Mac anymore since its absolutely dead and won't buy one too soon but if I needed to decide I'd go for way too expensive Apple product.
https://soundcloud.com/shivagarden |
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knocz
Moderator
Started Topics :
40
Posts :
1151
Posted : Aug 26, 2016 14:16
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@TimeTraveller: I'm sorry to hear about your issues.. and you are totally right  A PC system needs to be configured and is more susceptible to a lot of issues - I've had my own share of them when I really didn't need them.
It's true that PC systems will give you a lot more customization, at the cost of potential interoperability issues between the components.. It's easier for Apple to develop and support an OS that works for maybe 7 different machines at a time, than it is to make an OS that in theory will work in just about every PC configuration possible. Windows is to praise in this scenario, hands down, on what they've achieved. And then there are the PC manufacturers who take a CPU-MB architecture, make about 10 different models just to fill the market with "options", and deploy these without any concern to professionals - never minding music professionals. These systems are built for marketing purposes, to maximize each companies ROI only, and not for delivering a quality experience to the end user.
Apple wins on this scenario, unless you are willing to dig deep into getting a solid PC system. The tendency is, if you just get a generic PC and some Mac, it's more likely for you to get a solid Mac system. But, even due to the sheer options available, you "can get" a PC system that is a lot better for your needs, outperforms any Mac, and stays solid for years.
Making a good system for music production does take a few tweaks on both hardware and software.
I know the MoltenMusicTech guys to charge a bit for their services, that I could build a theoretically better setup with the same money, but for sure it won't be as tested. In the end, I would put their systems at the same "way too expensive" as Apple - you're buying "quality" in both ways.
Well, at least pre-2008.. now I find the hardware quality for Macs to be very low and TBH, apple systems are the ones that randomly fail the most in our office (we have a couple thousand machines). The ones that least fail for us are Dell machines running Linux (Linux has the best sound architecture, 100% modular between apps, but the worst music production apps).
Back on topic, my concerns on Mac side are related with the hardware side, and the expansibility they lack. You can use a thunderbolt cable and daisy-chain all your gear, but then if you don't supply the constant 5v-2A to some music gear, it starts to act up, which can trigger when daisying devices. Even for a few years, the 17'' Macs did give 3 USB - enough to shut me up.
Now they give 2 USB and 2 thunderbolt - considering you would like to go with one of these, I could consider it enough, but for sure these are not the ones posted by the thread author.
About how it's used on the OS side - I'm the first guy ranting on Windows. I don't want to go into this topic, there's too much to debate, but usually most software issues are caused by the interface between the chair and the keyboard.
I use a dedicated laptop for making music. So, it doesn't have internet, no browser, it doesn't even have a driver for the internal sound card. It's 7 years old, it still has a Core2Duo P9500, the motherboard doesn't allow more than 4GB of Ram, and I can still push out my tunes and play my full 2h live act with all my gear connected / realtime VST's / live instruments / in-box mixing.
And on the VST/app side, Mac looses - due to each VST developers fault. Some VST's work on both systems, but not most If you get used to even 1 Windows-only VST, and switch to a Mac, you'll be missing it all the time.
Super Banana Sauce http://www.soundcloud.com/knocz |
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